The subject matter disclosed herein relates to athletics and sports technology with particular discussion about training devices that position targets proximate a goal.
Many sports utilize a projectile that participants try to deliver into a goal. In soccer, participants use the foot (or feet) to strike a ball. In other sports like hockey, lacrosse, and field hockey, participants use a stick to carry, strike, and/or launch the projectile.
Athletes that are successful typically train for many hours to develop skills particular to their respective endeavors. This training can take many forms. For example, athletes may participate in drills and exercises that focus on certain facets of a sport. Some drills may incorporate equipment of particular design that serves to further the development of the skills. This equipment may include one or more targets, which athletes attempt to hit with the projectile. Training with these targets can help improve the accuracy with which athletes can deliver the ball or projectile.
In many respects, training with targets and related devices emphasizes repetition of an act or acts to enhance muscle memory and coordination. While desirable for purposes of improving skills, use of these devices can become monotonous, thereby causing athletes to lose interest in training. Insufficient interest can, in turn, reduce the effectiveness of both the training device and the drill that the athlete is to engage in during the training exercise.
Conventional devices are known to deploy targets for accuracy training. Many of these devices are designed for use with firearms and/or archery equipment, providing a centralized frame structure that displays the target. This configuration positions the targets in a way that the end user can safely fire projectiles to attempt to hit the targets. For sports training, some of the available devices utilize individual target members that secure to locations on the goal. On the other hand, those devices that include a centralized frame structure often fail to account for installation, removal, and transport of the structure in the design.